Bauhaus and its sites in Weimar and Dessau

As a university of design, the Bauhaus School revolutionised 20th century art and architecture around the world. Today the original buildings in Weimar and Dessau, along with a range of museums and exhibitions, provide an insight into a movement that still seems innovative today.

In December 1996, almost 70 years to the day since the dedication of the Gropius Building in Dessau, the Bauhaus sites of Dessau and Weimar were designated official UNESCO World Heritage sites. Buildings by Bauhaus teachers such as Walter Gropius, Hannes Meyer, László Moholy-Nagy and Wassily Kandinsky established the Bauhaus style, which greatly influenced the architecture of the 20th century. The work of the Bauhaus started in Weimar in 1919 and was first shown in an exhibition in 1923. Haus am Horn in Weimar, which in 1923 was built as a showcase home to a design by George Muche, exemplifies this unique architectural style. But the main building of the Bauhaus University and the former School of Arts and Crafts on Geschwister-Scholl-Strasse, both designed by the Belgian Henry van de Velde, are pure Bauhaus too. Also worth visiting is the Bauhaus Museum on Theaterplatz, directly opposite the Goethe and Schiller statue. In Dessau, the College of Design was a magnet for the avant garde of the time. Walter Gropius designed the building, which opened in 1926. It was with the Dessau Bauhaus that the application of Modernist principles to architecture and design first began to take shape, as can be seen from the 'masters' houses' and the Dessau-Törten estate. In the historical Bauhaus Canteen you can enjoy a generous breakfast or lunch sitting on the Marcel Breuer-designed stools. In the Studio House, former student rooms, some remodelled according to their original design, can be rented as single or double guestrooms.

Opening times, tours and tips

Dessau

Opening times for Bauhaus buildings and masters' houses: 10am to 5pm daily

Guided tours

Bauhaus Building tours: daily at 11am and 2pm; Saturday and Sunday also at 12 noon and 4pm

Public tours of the masters' houses: Daily 12.30pm and 3.30pm, Sat/Sun also at 1.30pm

Architectural tour of the Dessau-Törten estate: Tuesday to Sunday 3.30pm